\ 
Vol. I, No. % 
NEW YORK AND SYRACUSE 
May W9 
His magazine is the outgrowth of an in- 
creasing demand for practical designs 
and instructions for students of keramics. 
Now that the decoration of china is no 
longer a fad, but a serious • study, a pro- 
fession, or means of livelihood to thousands outside of pot- 
teries, something more is required of decorators than the 
stereotyped spray of flowers and the inevitable butterfly. 
Students have gone beyond that, and are clamoring for good 
designs which lead to a higher standard ; they are going into 
the work more seriously, realizing it to be a life-long study. 
That hesitating touch of the amateur is fast disappearing, as 
the understanding of design and technique increases; there- 
. fore the demand for a higher standard in the studios. 
It will be the aim of the KERAMIC Studio to help all 
those who are struggling in their efforts to reach higher ideals. 
There will always be articles and designs for beginners, with 
all the encouragement we can give. Many students live far 
from teachers and receive no aid except that which can be 
found in magazines, which makes it all the more necessary to 
give careful and practical instruction. 
The magazine being edited by teachers of wide experi- 
ence, who realize the needs and demands of pupils, will devote 
its columns to the study and development of keramic arts. 
We will cheerfully criticize, without charge, any work of 
our subscribers sent to us, expecting only that the expressage 
be prepaid. This will assist in correcting any faults in design, 
technique or firing. We will have articles and designs from 
the best artists, so that the style of touch and treatment may 
be varied, giving a broad basis upon which to build individual 
work. 
"We have received much encouiagement from decorators 
all over the country, and we hope, through the serious work 
of the magazine, to receive the help and encouragement of 
everyone interested in the advancement of this beautiful art. 
4> 
Subscribers not quite understanding an)/ of the treat- 
ments, or wishing to ask questions, are at liberty to write to the 
editors, who will reply in the next number of the magazine. 
We would be glad to have subscribers write and tell us 
what they would like in the way of designs, articles and instruc- 
tion, and we will try to accommodate them as soon as possible. 
Our first number does not contain the regular amount of 
instructions for beginners, as we have published matter per- 
taining particularly to our introduction as a new magazine. 
4« 
We invite all decorators to submit designs, particularly 
upon the subjects or motifs suggested by the continuous 
articles on design or historic ornament. It would be gratify- 
ing to receive some designs on the Egyptian motif given in 
the present number. We will publish the best one, with 
criticisms of the others, giving to the successful competitor a 
sheet of designs. We would be pleased, also, to have sub- 
mitted to us articles on subjects of interest to workers in any 
department of keramic art. 
4= 
We wish to call special attention to the keramic alphabet 
designed for us by Mr. Albert Marshall, pupil of William 
Chase, and head of a summer art school on the St. Lawrence. 
Every letter has behind it a keramic form, whose name begins 
with that letter. They are all good classic shapes, and we 
wish our potters and modellers would take examples from 
them and give us some good new-old forms for decoration. 
4= 
In the historic ornament series, if any subscriber would 
like the design adapted to another shape, we will give the 
adaptation in the earliest possible number. 
Lack of space prevents our giving the article on Boutet 
de Monvel, as seen from the china painter's point of view, and 
the notices of the exhibitions now going on — "The American 
Artists," "The Landscape Painters," "The Ten Painters," and 
"The Academy of Design." These articles will appear in the 
June number. 
4= 
Miss Horlocker's plate design teaches simplicity of floral 
decoration, both in its grouping of blossoms and in the balanc- 
ing of color. This will be valuable in class work, where a 
pupil needs brush practice in forming and shading a petal 
with one stroke of the brush. Without a knowledge of that 
stroke, the work will look opaque and very amateurish, — the 
beauty of mineral colors being in their transparency. 
4, 
The Secretaries of Clubs are asked to send items of their 
monthly and annual meetings, their course of study, etc. It 
will be an encouragement and aid to those who reside in 
remote places and have not the advantages of cities. 
4= 
In the June number there will be the first of a series of 
articles on the distinguishing marks of china. 
4 
It would be interesting to receive articles from those who 
have experimented in the decoration of American china. In 
our exhibition at Paris we should put our work upon china 
from American potteries, if possible. There is nothing more 
beautiful for enamel than the wares from the Trenton pot- 
teries ; but, alas, their shapes for table service are limited. 
Yet if decorators demand unceasingly, good forms, fine texture 
and perfect glaze, there surely will be a response from the 
potteries. It will require the combined effort of all decorators 
to bring this about. It must be a possibility, with all the 
varied soil and clay this country contains ; and it should be 
more a matter of pride with us to bring this about. 
